Author's note: thanks for being more and more to read this story, it's making me so happy, have a good reading folks. xx

Once month had gone since Sasha broke her wrist by falling in the stairs. And the less we could say is life hadn't been easy for her ever since, because every daily single things were hard to do. Taking her shower, getting dressed, breast-feeding her baby, driving, eating or even typing on her laptop were giving her loads of trouble. She didn't want to ask Tom every time but quickly understood that sometimes she had to delegate otherwise her life would be the perfect hell.

This morning she had managed to feed Peyton, and after she put her on her play-mat downstair with Ashley , she went to wash her hair because she had a meeting in the afternoon.

Tom was out with Sam for some groceries shopping. They had all planned a nice weekend all together, one of the first since Tom came back from the James. Even Sasha had managed to clear most of her schedule by working even harder during the week, enchaining meetings after meetings, coming home late. Which resulted in some arguments with Tom because he didn't like her to neglect her health, especially because she needed rest to heal her wrist. She was rinsing her long mahogany hair when she suddenly hit her elbow, dropping the shower head, banging her wrist against the bathtub rim. "Oh this is so great." she mumbled, wincing because of the pain, hating being that clumsy.

"Recall me who stated the whole situation was under control and getting better ?" a deep voice said being her, half amused, half concerned.

"Not a word please, I'm still handling the situation." she shut him up, hating herself even more because now he had seen her being weak and just by washing her hair, she considered it awfully shameful.

"Oh I can see that." he smirked, taking the shower head and starting to slowly rinse her hair, massaging her head like he used to do with Ashley, or even with her when she was struggling too much - like today.

"Tom…." she moaned, annoyed with herself because she couldn't do it, and grateful he was always here to help, even when she didn't ask for it. She never did, too proud and stubborn.

He didn't stop, focused on her hair, detangling it at the same time he was rinsing. "What's up sweetheart ?" he asked, perfectly knowing what she wanted to tell him, because he knew her too well and knew how much she hated losing control over things.

"I might come back late tonight, I have the meeting with the Marines corps intelligence head's department and then a training with the guys at the base."

"Sasha." he cut her, immediately knowing what it was about. "Your wrist is too weak still you can't properly hold a riffle and you know it, it's too heavy." his voice ton was serious. He turned off the water and slowly wrapped a towel around her head so she could stand up. "I don't want you to be hurt again, and a shooting assignment is definitely not a good idea."

"But…"

"And you're not enough left handed, so even if you try, the gun will give you hell of trouble." he cut her off, already knowing her next argument.

She shrugged her shoulders, annoyed with herself and the fact that Tom was undeniably right. She then took off her pyjama top, - loving to wear his clothes - ready to dress up when she heard him gasp a little, and call her. "Wait." he said, coming closer to her, his hands barely touching her lower back and butt. "What happened ? Don't tell me…. Did I do that to you…?" his voice and face were blank, as he saw big red bruises all over her porcelain skin. Some of them were purple with shades of blue and he knew exactly when he had done that to her.

"What ?" she asked, not understanding what he was talking about.

He dragged her in front of the huge mirror of the bathroom and showed her the bruises. She opened her mouth and immediately closed it, turning to face him, grabbing his head. "Hey….. it's nothing. It happens sometimes and you know it right ?"

Tom didn't answer, unable to look at her, too focused on the red stains all over her skin. "Have I been too rough on you ? Sasha you have to tell me when it's too much and when it's hurting you. I…" he had no words and no ways to say sorry, he felt guiltiness growing inside of him and was so ashamed because he didn't want to hurt her. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Tom look at me." she grabbed his chin so he was forced to look at her. "You didn't hurt me, I didn't even feel it and there is nothing to worry about, do you understand ? You were gentle and passionate, and I love you. I don't want anything to be different and I want you to continue, I love you and every way you make love to me…." she confessed in a low voice, kissing him, standing on her tiptoes.

"Hm…" he mumbled, trying not to look at those beautiful eyes of hers, still ashamed.

"Please ? Don't ever think you're violent and you hurt me on purpose, because it's all but true." she whispered, her hand resting on his torso. "Plus, wild and rough sex is fun…I'm just older now, my body had aged since the academy and our torrid nights. And days."

He saw the smirk over her face and couldn't not smile to her, because she always had the right words, and was always taking the good side of every situations. Maybe he took her too roughly last night and even if she was telling him not to worry, he would feel guilty for days because she was bruised. Between that and the fall, he was starting to doubt and wonder if it was really that bad for her to be up to missions again. At least he wouldn't hurt her…. But she was still there, and she was loving him so much. "I'm sorry Sash."

"There is nothing to worry Tom, really, it's nothing." she smiled, grabbing his butt and squeezing it, going to the dressing to find something to wear. "And don't lose this big energy or you'll be the one to have sex bruises."

And her laugh instantly filled the room.

"What is it dad ?"

Tom was in the middle of his and Sasha's room, trying to unpack all the stuff he had made come from his house in Norfolk. And there was a lot of mess because he didn't know where to start, between the boxes full of work stuff and the ones with private stuff. Ashley and Sam were helping him, hoping they could find some of Darien's belongings, just to have a little something when they were feeling sad. And in the box Sam had just opened there was some old pictures, a bottle of perfume, and a report. Sam frowned his eyebrows, wondering why his dad had kept during all these years what seemed to be an examen from the academy. Which wasn't even his, the initials written at the first page were S.R. "Why do you keep it dad ?" he asked, confused, trying to read but he didn't understand a single word. Tom came nearer to him and immediately understood, feeling some nostalgia growing inside of him. He'd kept it because it was precious, because on the last page of the report, something special had been added, manually.

Silence is an ocean, speech is a river. Thanks for the talk, looking forward to the next one. 8pm at the library, same corner next to the window seems good.

She had the audacity to leave a note for him, on an essay, on something scholar, breaking the fraternisation rules, and ignoring the fact he was her teacher back in time. But did she care about something ?

"And who is S.R ?" Ashley added, also intrigued, wondering why his dad was keeping this kind of item in his personal belonging. That was so unusual.

He smiled, looking at his two kids. "It's Sasha, back in time, she was Sasha Regan. That's her essay." he said, pointing at the pieces of paper.

"But you said she was your most brilliant student at the academy, so why did you give her only B+ ?"

"Because Sasha had the annoying habit of always returning her work late, and I even think she did it purposely to piss me off. She never did that with other teachers. So I had to lower the grade, hoping she would remember for the next time. Which she never remembered." he chuckled, thing about how fierce and wild Sasha was.

"Did you get her in trouble then ?" Sam asked, curious. Him and Ashley were like hypnotised by what he was saying, loving to know more about their dad's past life, when he was younger and not a high ranked solider.

"Yes, more than once, I don't even think we can count the times I had to put her in detention. She was such a rebel, and I was wondering how she could behave that well in other lectures." he smiled to the souvenir, even if fifteen years ago it wasn't funny at all.

"You guys are weird. She was giving you troubles and you fell in love with her ? How could that happened ?" Ashley looked at him in disbelief. "Aren't you suppose to fall in love with someone who makes you happy, don't annoy you and not get you into problems ?"

She was right. At the start he didn't understand how he could be attracted, but after he had understood. Sasha had been and still is special, she had something in her gaze, and every time she was looking at him, the world was on pause. That's how he realised he was falling for her, when everything had become insignificant, not as important as it was before, when she was his unique light through the day, weeks or months.

"That's because she was giving me trouble that I started to feel more curious about her. She was such a secret girl, she had barely friends and was spending lot of time at the library, studying. And when she wasn't at school, no one was hearing from her, like if she had disappeared. A real ghost." he talked quietly, all of the images of the academy coming backing force into his head. "And she was so passionate, time over time, we had spent hours talking about everything and nothing. It took me 6 months to get her to talk to me, outside the professional framework." he confessed.

"6 months ?" they both exclaimed. Neither of them could have picture Sasha like a lonely wolf.

Tom nodded. "Sasha has one philosophy that includes no one else can protect her, because she is her own security bodyguard."

"And when did you fell in love with her ? When did you ask her out ? When did you kiss her for the first time ?" Sam asked in less than 30 second, incredibly curious.

Tom ruffled his son's hair, chuckling. "One question at a time. I started to fall in love with her few weeks after this assignment - pointing at the paper. The library was our usual meeting place, and I was trying to meet her up there every day, even with my tight schedule. And one day I wanted more, I took her out in a navy bar instead, we had few drinks and I drove her back home."

"So that's when you kissed her right ?"

"Hm, not exactly." winking at him. "It happened the next day, my class was finished and she came to my office, claiming she had something important to tell me." The two kids were hanging to his lips, trying to anticipate every word he could say. "I was intrigued, because I was starting to think I was the only one falling but she told me she didn't want to play dumb anymore, because there was a thing between us. Then she kissed me."

"NO WAY!" Sam yelled, looking at his sister who was basically as shocked as him. "You didn't do the first move ? Oh my god dad!"

"But, isn't it forbidden ? You told us there was fraternisation rules, plus all the strict rules navy soldiers had to respect, especially between ranked and student, or even sailors." Ashley said, frowning her eyes brows and looking at his dad suspiciously.

"Rules on land are different from the rules on a destroyer but technically, yes, that was a forbidden relationship." he admitted, remembering this first kiss, how much he had to control himself not to pin her to his desk and have his way with her. Because of all the tension between them both.

"And then you had sex with her ?"

"Better if I stop the story to this chapter, the rest isn't a kid appropriate version." he chuckled, mentally laughing of seeing his two kids disappointed faces.

"I mean, it's not like if we had never overheard you or Sasha…." Ashley mumbled, Sam nodding to her words. And that's when Tom became a bit embarrassed, feeling the blush going up to his cheeks. "Wh….What ?"

"Well, we both know why you stay that late in bed almost every mornings, especially during the weekends. And it's okay for us but in case we have to remind you, there is only one wall in between our rooms. And it's kind of thin." Ashley said, amused of making her dad feel awkward, because it was too much fun to see the great Tom Chandler get caught off guards, even his own kids had noticed it.

"And between you and Sasha, we still can't agree on who is louder…." Sam added, shrugging his shoulder, joining the fun and trying not to laugh too much.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you two monkeys are mixing up everything because I have no ideas of what you are both talking." Tom said, trying his best to keep control over the whole situation, not embarrassed about his sexual life with Sasha, which was normal for a couple, but embarrassed to know that his kids could hear it crystal clear. Especially because it never really crossed his mind that eavesdropping was easy to do for them, even in a big house like theirs.

"You're a terrible liar dad." they both agreed - it was so rare. "But anyways, what about this ?" Ashley asked, pointing at the perfume, half empty.

Tom followed her gaze, looking at the bottle Hermes Jardin sur le nil, the one he kept during fifteen years. He never opened it during all of this time, but kept it preciously just to remember. He had used it, just to remember her the next months after their break up, because he was destroyed and desperate, because she was his whole world, and at this time - before meeting Darien - his world did change into a dark hole, as empty as his heart. And when he met her in Asia, the first thing he noticed was that perfume, the same one, the one that made him remember her even when she had left. It was weird but that's how he'd managed to recover. During his married life, he never opened again the bottle, but he also never forgot the smell, too special. And like if she guessed her dad thoughts, Ashley put back the bottle, understanding it was his secret garden, something with secrets and unsaid that he might want to keep for himself. "Were you that sentimental dad ?"

He turned his blue eyes on her and Sam, who was silently waiting for the answer, both of them discovering a new face of their dad. "I guess I am." he only said, almost whispering. "But before you two would ask, I sincerely loved, and still do, your mom. She helped me recover and taught me how to love again."

"But that wasn't the same love you have for Sasha right ?"

He looked at his daughter with a mix of too many emotions, since when did she become that mature ? She was still his little girl, the baby he had cradled to sleep when she was afraid of the monster under the bed, the one he had told sailors stories before bed time…. When did she become this mature teenager, able to understand the complicated word that was love ?

"No you're right, it was a different one, but a very strong one." he admitted. Sasha had been - and would always be - the love of his life, the only one, but he was sincere, he really loved Darien. But she had never been Sasha and that's not what he'd searched for after their break up. Sasha was Sasha, she was different and unique. And their ten years gap had never made up the difference.

"And now you have kids from the two women you loved in your life. Are you happy dad ? "

It was more of a statement than a question, but he couldn't not agree with his daughter. He was the happiest, Darien gave him his two precious kids, the ones he always wanted, and Sasha added Peyton, the one he didn't expect but loved more than life itself. And it made Tom realise how lucky he was, to have them by his side.

"Yes I am. Come on, enough nostalgia for today, let's pack everything back and go downstair for some lunch." he said, standing up and grabbing his stuff. "What do you guys wants to eat ?"

Tom quickly followed Ashley and Sam, carefully carrying Peyton. She was spending more time awake which was making him happy because he was there during those moments. He really missed moments with his first ones to his biggest disappointment so he was hoping not to do the same mistake with Peyton. And it was way easier with a desk job, after so many time away from his family he was now able to find pro and cons to every situations. And that's when the ringing of his cell pulled him out of thoughts.

"You must be psychic love, I…" he said, immediately interrupting when he heard her voice ton, blank and full of pain. "What's going on ? Are you alright Sash ?" Tom stopped in the middle of the stairs, nodding to Ashley to come over and take Peyton from his arms.

"Tom I need you not to worry…" she said, with a low voice like if she was whispering, or holding her breath.

"Tell me what's going on. Where the hell are you ?" he almost barked at the phone, ready to grab the three kids to get them in the truck and drive wherever she would tell him she was right now. "Are you hurt ? Did something happens at the training ?" God, please no. His heart beats started to speed up because of the worry, imagining the worst scenarios in his head. What did she do again….

"I'm fine…" she mumbled, Tom immediately knowing she wasn't saying the truth, because he knew her and knew how much she hated being weak, or showing someone she was only human. "I just…..things got worst, a bit only."

"What the hell have you done Sasha, for god's sake I swear…" he yelled at the phone, feeling like she was slowly killing him, sickly worried. "Who is with you ? Where are you ? Give the goddamn phone to someone who can actually answer me!"

He was done with the stubborn and the Sasha knows best. It didn't matters - even a bit - when her health was on stake. And he had probably yelled too loud because both Sam and Ashley were standing on the kitchen door step, confused, wondering what was happening..

"Sir, this is Azima." he heard through the phone.

"What's going on ?" he didn't even embarrass himself with formalities, straight to the goal. He was getting older, those littles scares weren't good for his heart and his mental health.

"We were training at the shooting stand with the new Heckler, and everything happened too fast. We heard the first detonation, and then she was holding her wrist, the wounded one, she couldn't move it anymore. When the corpsman removed her splint and bandage, it was completely twisted and blue. I think it was way too heavy and when the gunshot went off she released it, and it crushed her wrist in the fall."

He saw red, refraining himself from punching the wall in front of him. Because the kids were here and he didn't want them to be more afraid. "Did she get transferred to the navy base hospital ?"

"Yes Admiral, I'm with her right now. Green, Miller and Wolf are still at the training centre."

"I'll be there in ten. Thanks Azima." he then hanged up to join the kids in the kitchen and quickly explain the situation. He called their neighbour, knowing Ashley was enough responsible and mature to keep an eye on herself and Sam but with Peyton things were different so the presence of an adult wouldn't be too much. And he definitely couldn't bring the kids along, military hospitals were very different from the civilian ones, patients were wounded soldiers and that wasn't a place for kids - at all.

He arrived in a record time at the hospital, running through the corridors and finally seeing Azima in the waiting area, still in her combat uniform. When she saw him she immediately made her way toward him.

"She went into surgery few minutes ago, apparently there are a few more broken bones adding to the old fracture." she informed him before he could ask what was going on and where was Sasha. She immediately saw how worried he was, damn, this man was loving her with every fibres of his being, it was more than visible, he was literally falling for her. "She's gonna be fine Admiral, she's tough."

Of course she is, that's my girl, he thought, trying to keep a straight face, but dying to see her for real and make sure - with his own eyes - she was alright. "Thanks Azima, don't worry I'll stay, if you want to go back to the training with the guys."

She shook her head. "I'm good, I'll stay until she gets out and I'll leave you to it." He mentally smiled and took a sit, trying not to be too worried, but that was a tougher exercise than he would have thought. Azima did the same few minutes after, and they waited. A very long time. Almost two hours without any news. And after what seemed to be an eternity, a surgeon came from nowhere, walking toward them.

"Are you Mrs Cooper relative ?"

Tom immediately stood up, both nodding at the doc's question, waiting for the verdict.

"So…."